Topic for Mar. 28. ( Tue )

[Alex !]

How a Nepo Baby is born?

What's Nepotism ?

Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, and other activities.

The term originated with the assignment of nephews to important positions by Catholic popes and bishops.

That is the act of using your power or influence to get good jobs or unfair advantages for members of your own family.

Some people have achieved success in their chosen profession, owing to family connections. Their privilege comes from either one or both parents who are famous names. This is how the children get an advantage over others in a profession and are referred to as nepotism babies, or nepo baby.

It isn’t a new term and is not restricted to one industry. However, its preval‎ence is most seen in the world of entertainment, with several famous names having parents who have been or continue to be famous TV or movie personalities. For instance, many prominent stars in the film industry are third- or fourth-generation actors. This has led to criticism that they get major film offers while talented aspiring performers continue to struggle. 

It pointed at how a tweet triggered the debate around the meritocracy that may have been trumped by some who had the advantage of the family they were born into. They underlined that even though some nepotism babies are indeed talented, such a lucky position of being born to famous parents easily opens doors of opportunities. A nepo baby is physical proof that meritocracy is a lie.

Today, they’re not only abundant — they’re thriving. In an industry built on reboots, a famous last name can be valuable intellectual property. A celebrity child brings an easy marketing hook as well as millions of TikTok followers who, the theory goes, will slide seamlessly from watching their wardrobe reveals to watching their war-drama reels. 

The stir over Hollywood nepotism had begun to percolate at the start of the pandemic, which both supercharged the backlash against celebrities and heightened the salience of their dynastic ties. 

A Deadline article about a short film called The Rightway — directed by Steven Spielberg’s daughter, starring Sean Penn’s son, and written by Stephen King’s son — spurred days of online controversy.You would see models walk super-well and then there’s Kendall Jenner walking, and you’re like, Oh my gosh. It’s really bad,” she says. How bad? “She walks like a normal person.” 

It makes sense that zoomers, a generation steeped in pop analyses of structural oppression, would hit on the nepo baby as their particular celebrity obsession. Better to imagine nepo babies on a spectrum. At the top are the classic nepo babies, inheritors of famous names and famous features.

How can they begin to prove themselves? Traditionally, Mom and Dad have helped out.In a rough study, approximately 100 percent of celebrities’ children were hailed by their collaborators as talented, humble, and ready to put in the work. A few brave nepo babies step outside their parents’ chosen field. Sometimes, capturing the internet’s attention for a moment is enough. For those not ready to commit to one profession, the industry can provide a buffet of opportunities.

This is the nepo baby’s credo: Try, and if at first you don’t succeed, remember you’re still a celebrity’s child, so try, try again.
While these endeavors have not been successful in the traditional sense, they have enabled him to amass 14.6 million followers on Instagram, where the only important metric is the one thing a nepo baby is assured of on the basis of their name: attention.

We have all heard the anti-anti-nepotism argument: Sure, children of the famous may have an advantage at the beginning, but eventually talent will win out. Those who can’t hack it will fade away, while the truly gifted nobodies will be discovered if they only keep at it.

Just as the children of celebrities got a leg up from the fact that they physically resembled people who were already famous, so too did America’s whites benefit from fitting the nation’s mental image of who should be in charge.

A lot of them are working toward their own thing, but at times they’re trying to bypass the steps a person coming from nowhere would have to do.” Having been spared the seasoning of everyday hardship, a nepo baby can often seem guppyish, unformed.

Within the industry, there is little use in being subtle about the familial strings. “Someone once said to me, ‘We should hire so-and-so because their parents will come to the opening night,’” says a veteran casting director. The need to maintain relationships can ease a famous child’s path through the door.

For centuries, children born into rich, famous and otherwise powerful families have had a leg up in life, inheriting monarchies, business empires, wealth and star power. In some cases they’ve surpassed their parents’ status. This is what most parents wish for their children. It’s also often how power works, especially in Hollywood.

The spread of the phrase also communicates a certain disillusionment with Hollywood and a rejection of the idea that anyone can make it in creative industries. Famous people are connected to another person who’s connected to another person, and it’s just not authentic anymore.

Just say, ‘Yes, I am the child of a celebrity, and I’m very grateful for the opportunities that has obviously afforded me.’ Then we’re good,” she said. “I think it’s when there’s a denial of that situational difference is what irks me — just the facade of grinding.”

At the end of the day, the truth is, if I had the connections that you have, I would absolutely capitalize on them in the exact same way that you have,”